


Four Nights, Three Crushes, One Bed, what else do you need

by fizzysugarwrites



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Falling In Love, Fluff, Just... So much fluff, M/M, Multi, Only One Bed, im just kinda having fun, it's technically from Jay's perspective but yknow, jay-centric, the boys are cuddlinnnnnnn, they're on a trip but it's not important, what is important is Jay's catching a lot of feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:35:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25866772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fizzysugarwrites/pseuds/fizzysugarwrites
Summary: Cole, Kai, Zane, and Jay are going on their first sleepaway vacation together, alone. No Nya, no Lloyd, no nobody. And their booking got messed up.Jay is allowed to be reminded that he is definitely in love with all three of his friends. But how in the hell do you tell them that? Answer: you don't and hope to whatever the feelings go away.And then they don't go away ;0.
Relationships: Cole/Kai/Jay Walker/Zane
Comments: 27
Kudos: 203
Collections: dinjago





	1. Messy Bookings, and also Cole

**Author's Note:**

> My first attempt at writing fic for this fandom that I fell back into in the past like. week and a half. yeehaw

It was real late in the evening when the boys got to their hotel. The rain had hiked up so much goddamn traffic that there really wasn’t much any one of them could do about it.

Sure, the drive was fun, Jay thought to himself as the four of them bustled into the hotel lobby. He’d gotten into a heated “discussion” with Kai over what movie candy is objectively the best. Zane put a poll up on Twitter to get them both to shut up about it, and Kai’s M&Ms won out over Sour Patch Kids by a landslide. Cole scoffed at their damn petty argument, but added that clearly the best movie candy were those frosted animal crackers, which just caused a _whole_ other uproar.

Trips with these guys were fun like that. Jay felt like he’d known them so long that even when they were being dramatic, being around them felt like… home.

They walked up to the front desk in the wee hours of the night. Cole, taking the lead with the bag cart, also took the lead regarding getting the keys.

“Sorry about coming in this late,” he started, looking up at the concierge apologetically. She just sighed in a sort of resigned way.

“Believe me, this isn’t the latest I’ve seen. What’s the name on the booking?” She flips through the computer absentmindedly.

“Uh, Cole Brookstone. Four nights.” Cole slid his phone out of his pocket and opened up the app he’d done the booking on. Kai shifted from foot to foot quietly as the concierge continued to flip through the computer.

Jay hummed a bit, trying to break the silence. He glanced at the clock behind the front desk. 11:44 PM. Hotels were usually dead quiet around this time, and this place was no exception. 

Finally, the concierge looked up. She yawned. Then she passed four cards across the table. “Room 114.”

Cole flashed another apologetic smile. “Thank you. Have a good night, then?”

“Mm,” she replied, noncommittal.

With that, the boys filed off into the elevator, finally free to talk amongst themselves.

“So what’s the plan for tomorrow?” Jay asked into the air. Zane picked it up.

“Well, there’s a county fair in town that I know Cole wanted to go to,” he explains, flipping through his phone with one hand.

Cole brightens. “Oh, _very_ much. You guys haven’t lived until you’ve tried funnel cake. Ooh, and cotton candy! And-“

Kai laughed a bit and clapped Cole on the shoulder. “We get it, the sweet stuff’s pretty good.” Cole’s grin turned sheepish and he shrugged a bit. The elevator dinged, and the four of em bustled out into the hallway. The only people still up in this place, in fact Jay recalls the concierge starting to clear up the desk before the elevator closed downstairs.

“Ah!” Cole chimes, pulling Jay out of his internal thoughts. “Here we are!” He fumbles with the keycard for a moment before it beeps and he shoves the door open. Kai slides past them all with a short “gotta pee” before tucking into the bathroom. Cole helps Zane pull the first round of luggage off the cart… and then he stops short, looking into the room.

“... uh. Where’s… the other beds?”

Zane makes a perplexed noise and looks over Cole’s shoulder. “Hm.” Jay silently curses the gods for making him short, and tries to peer between the two of em. “What? What is it?”

“There’s… only one bed,” Zane observes. Jay sputters. “WhAT?” There’s a flushing noise and then Kai opens the door, looking over to the rest. “What are we all stari- whoa!” He looks over at the singular bed in the room. 

“Well. That’s a… problem.”

Several minutes later and Jay was laying down, in the dark, shoulder to shoulder with his friends. 12:10 AM. Not what he expected.

Zane had gone down to request a different room, but the concierge desk was already dark and closed. They had debated for a bit about who would sleep on the floor, if anyone, but somewhere in there it was decided that they were going to make this work for everyone.

So now they’re here, like a goddamn sardine can. Zane on one edge, Jay on the other, Kai and Cole in the middle. Jay was having trouble deciding if this was comfortable or not.

He glanced over at Cole, who was just staring up at the ceiling drowsily. There was some light snoring from beyond him, probably Kai. Zane’s breathing was calm. It was… weird, being able to hear all of them like this again. Last time they were all sleeping in the same room like this was when they were still teenagers, training under Sensei Wu. It’d been several years since then.

Some part of Jay found the sounds of his friends sleeping comforting. Looking back, this might have been one of his best sleeps yet. He rolls over on his side and doesn’t remember much else until…

3:27 AM.

Jay blinked awake, barely conscious and with a pressure on his back. His vision is blurry, but he can make out the shapes of two of his friends sleeping peacefully nearby.

As his vision cleared a bit, the details were made out. Kai’s arm was pinned against his side by Cole’s, and Zane was hanging around Kai’s waist. Jay’s eyes followed Cole’s arm to come to the _alarming_ conclusion that he was lying on Cole’s stomach, and that the pressure on his back was Cole’s other arm, draped over him and holding him close.

Jay felt his face grow hot and his senses suddenly sharpen out of sheer embarrassment. But he didn’t jolt or move, thank god. _This is happening??? What???_

Everyone seemed to still be asleep. Jay considered his options. He absolutely didn’t wanna wake anyone up, but he had to move. _Why?_ Because… because he can’t stay here! Like- what! What would any of them think if he stayed there? If they woke up like this?

_Okay, breathe Jay. Breathe._

He shimmied his legs a bit under himself and reached around with his arm to move Cole’s arm off of him. Eventually he managed to slide out and off the bed. Cole snorted, but stayed asleep. Now it was just Jay awake, standing there quietly, wondering what he’s meant to do now.

He crept off into the bathroom and shut the door behind him, looking into the mirror. His blush was even more obvious now, and he made a frustrated noise and turned the faucet on to splash some water on his face.

God, he thought he’d gotten over this. Gotten over Cole. He had a crush on him when they were like 15 but he thought that was it! It had to be. But… he looked so soft in the pale light like that. He didn’t want to admit it to himself but… Jay wanted to stay there, in that moment.

But he can’t.

 _I’ll just sleep on the chair there. It’ll be fine_.

When he left the bathroom, he was once again startled by Cole snorting, but this time he actually woke up and mumbles, “Jay?”

Jay froze. “H-hey, uh, go back to sleep,” he whispered.

“Where’re you goin…” Cole responded blearily. Evidently not conscious enough to notice his own predicament. Jay stuffed his hands into his pajama pockets.

“Just… went to the bathroom, it’s alright. Go back to sleep,” he answered again, making a sort of calming gesture.

“Mmkay…” Cole relented, drifting off again and curling his free arm against his side. Jay let out a small sigh of relief, looking over his friends still sleeping peacefully.

_It really looks inviting…_

Jay shook himself. _I can’t. I just can’t. End of story._

He tiptoed over to the small armchair next to the window and curled up in it, sighing wistfully at how cold it was now that he wasn’t on the bed, next to them. He felt his face grow hot again, and just sort of… folded his arms over his head.

_I can figure my shit out in the morning._


	2. Breakfast and Bad Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well that was a weird night. Guess it's time to get the room switched. Or is it?

Jay awoke under blankets. He turned over blearily and looked at the clock. 9:57 AM.

He was alone in here. That got his attention, and he sat up. Sunlight streamed in through the window, and the place was exactly as they’d all left it when they went to bed that night. Some of the suitcases were open and up on those little collapsible racks. Jay surveyed the room in silence, not sure what to make of it now. His eyes fell on a note on the bedside table, in a stationery set that he remembers Zane buying. He scoops it up and reads it.

_Went out to get some donuts to bring back for breakfast! Be back soon! Didn’t wanna wake you.  
_ _\- Zane_

Jay sighed gently. _Alright. Time to get up._

He’s about halfway through his morning routine when his three best friends come in, exclaiming about this weird bird they saw on the way here (“Kai I’m pretty sure that was just a goose” “NO IT WASN’T!”) and before they all knew it they were sitting together on the bed with a box of donuts between them. Zane was jotting down things to try at a county fair, since he’d never been to one before. Cole was stuffing his face before Jay poked him in the side and reminded him that they’re going to the fair and they’re going to get even more stuff.

At some point during the breakfast Kai and Zane reached for the same donut and touched hands, which made them both have a mild moment of awkward silence before they pulled away quickly. Jay noticed, but… well, it’s whatever. As soon as it happened, the moment passed and they went back to things like normal.

After everyone ate, Cole looked around the room thoughtfully. “So… who’s gonna ask the concierge about rooms this morning?”

  
“Not it,” Kai said at once, raising his hand dismissively. 

Jay sputtered. “I- don’t we gotta go to the fair?”

“Well, yes, but it might be optimal to ask the concierge about moving before we head out,” Zane pipes. There’s a beat of silence before he continues “Also, not it.”

Jay gives Zane a look of betrayal before looking at Cole, who’s already got his hands up. “Looks like you’re the lucky one, zaptrap.”

Jay just lets out a long groan. “Aw cmon! I wasn’t even _awake_!” Kai sticks out his tongue at Jay as a response, and Cole just shrugs apologetically. Zane made no comment, still writing down things to do at the fair. That settles it.

“You guys are the worst,” Jay remarks saltily as he stands up from the bed and stretches out his torso.

“Love you too, buddy!” Cole chimes cheerily, standing up to stretch at the same time.

Jay pretended he didn’t stare when Cole’s shirt rode up on him, and turned around to go see the concierge, scooping up his backpack and keycard on the way out. His best friends’ chatter muffled with the closing of the door, and he ambled down to the elevator.

In the elevator, Jay had a thought. 

_What if all… this, could actually get me to get over him?  
_ _It could work. Just a couple more nights, getting… used to that, maybe my feelings will just… mellow out.  
_ _It could work.  
_ _It’s gotta work._

The elevator dinged, and he strode out, still halfway on autopilot. _No. Cmon. They asked you to get them a new room.  
_ _But what if there aren’t any?  
_ _… what if there aren’t any._

He was standing at the concierge desk for a full minute before he came out of his thoughts. The concierge blinked at him.

“Can I… help you?”

Jay stuttered a bit. “Oh! Uh. No, just… getting a mint,” he deflected, pulling one from the jar on the counter. The concierge just looked at him funny, and Jay nodded nervously before puttering off back to the elevator. He sighed heavily, and pulls out his phone to tell them the… bad news.

  
_jaybird: no luck, concierge says room switches aren’t allowed_

There was a beat of silence before the replies came in. 

_flameohotman: nuts  
_ _nindroid: oh well U_U  
_ _rockcandy: well, we proved we can do it one night, so I guess we can continue to make do. ya tried your best, zaptrap._

Something about that last message made Jay feel a pang of guilt. But he shook it off. He had to be sure of this dumb plan or it’d never work. He’s just going to get rid of his feelings, and it’s gonna happen. It’s gotta.

The elevator dinged again, and the boys filed in with him.


	3. Catching Feelings 2: Fire Edition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang's stuck with the one bed. And Jay is still catching feelings.

One very long day later, 7:34 PM, and the boys were winding down. Kai was wearing a balloon hat that he’d won in a ring toss game, while there was still some greasy leftover funnel cake in a paper bag that Cole and Zane were digging out of on the desk.

Jay was sprawled out on the bed, just chillin. And blowing a kazoo he also won. He could tell that his best friends were getting slowly sick of it.

“Jay,” Kai said darkly after one too many kazooings. “I’m going to strangle you with my balloon hat.”

“You’re no fun,” Jay pouted at Kai. And then kazooed again, just to spite him.

“That’s it-” Kai stood up from the chair and lunged at Jay, who screamed in mock terror as he was tackled. Zane sighed audibly, and Cole giggled despite his attempts to hide it.

Jay was laughing now as well, shoving Kai’s face away, the kazoo now scattered on the bed. “Alright alright alright! Kazoo time’s over, hothead!” Kai responded by hoisting Jay up in his arms, which was met with another delighted shriek.

“Kai, put him down,” Zane remarked with a kind of exasperated affection. Kai smirked at him.

“Or what?"

Zane raised his eyebrows, and stood up. Jay snickered when he remembered how tall Zane was. Taller than Kai, that is.

Kai promptly dropped Jay, with a nervous laugh. Zane nodded, satisfied, and Jay could swear that was the first time he’s seen Zane _smirk_ at how quickly that worked. Kai definitely went red there. But well, it’s whatever.

Cole just looked between the two of them and snorted. “You guys are crazy.”

“Yeah, but that’s why ya love us,” Jay remarked, dragging himself off the floor and up to Cole’s chair with a dumb grin on his face.

“Oh do I now?” Cole mused, looking Jay up and down with a cheeky smirk. Jay froze. Suddenly he felt real self-conscious.

There’s a beat of silence where Jay’s smile is traded for just a sort of… lovestruck stare.

“Uh… d-yeah! Yeah,” He responded finally, breaking eye contact with a cough. Cole tilted his head at him, and Jay absolutely felt his face grow hot again. He whirled away and stuck his nose in a book on the bedside instead.

_Dammit dammit dammit. He definitely noticed._

Cole shrugged, and they all go back to existing in the same room together. 

When it’s time to settle in for the night, they go sardine-can again, this time with Kai and Jay in the center. Jay stared at the ceiling, hoping to god that this’ll work. He glanced at Kai, who’s on his side, back to back with Zane and looking rather conflicted. Cole was out cold already, arms under his own pillow.

Jay sighed gently. Time to sleep then.

1:24 AM.

Jay woke up in the middle of the night - again - to find himself in a new predicament.

He was curled against red pajamas, with _Kai’s_ chin on his head. And it felt rather… nice.

_Am I catching Another set of feelings?_

There was a squeak and a shift that denoted the change from sleep to wake, and Jay dropped his train of thought, and tilted his head up to see a remarkably flustered Kai looking back at him.

Jay sucked in a breath. “Uh.”

Kai responded with an equally awkward “...huh.”

Jay shifted back from Kai and folds his arms. “...s-sorry,” he mumbles after a moment. Kai looked at him in an almost apologetic way. “It, ah… this… happened last night too.”

That confused Kai. “What did?”

“Y’know,” Jay began in a whisper. “The… repositioning. Guess no one here’s a heavy sleeper, heh.” Jay shifted back a bit more and gasped when he pressed against Cole’s side. At least he was sound asleep. He looked back at Kai.

“Guess so…” was his only vocal response as he rolled onto his back. This gave Jay ample time to look him over.

Kai was always sort of the “sharpest” of their little group. In a lot of the meanings of the word. He was smart, in a way that most didn’t notice because it was more… casual than Zane’s research intelligence and Jay’s own mechanical know-how. He knew how to think in the middle of a fight, or some other conflict. He could think under pressure. And that kind of made him… intimidating. When they were younger, at least. This spiky-haired, brash, and frankly rude guy was kind of intimidating to the rest of them. 

But… Kai’s grown. A lot, in fact. Looking at him in this kind of muted night light, he didn’t look sharp to him. Not to say he looked dumb but he looked… vulnerable? Whether he was trying to or not, Kai looked very… lonesome. 

Before Jay really knew what he was doing, he’d shimmied closer. Kai’s face turned hot but… he didn’t protest. After a moment, Jay leaned his head on Kai’s upper arm and draped his own arm over the other’s chest. Again, Kai didn’t protest. There was a moment of comforting silence between them, and Kai put his hand in Jay’s hair and mumbled something like “soft”. Jay chuckled lightly and let his eyes shut.

_Yeah, I definitely caught feelings, didn’t I._


	4. Very In Tune, and also the Third Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zane has always been in tune with the rest of the gang. Jay has caught yet another set of feelings, and it's time for Comfort

Jay didn’t remember much about the following day. They went out to lunch in this fantastic hole-in-the-wall place that Zane found. And he was grappling, all day, with the now _two_ crushes he had on his friends.

Jay must have seemed unusually quiet as he did so, because Zane pulled him aside on their walk back to the hotel. 3:42 PM.

“Is everything alright, Jay?” He asked as they pulled behind the other two. “You seem… troubled.”

Jay jolted a bit. _How does he always know about how I’m feeling?_ “Just… uh, personal stuff.”

Zane tilted his head. “Do… do you want to-”

“I don’t think I could talk about it out loud without _actually imploding,_ ” Jay remarked with a sort of dramatic tone. Zane faltered, and Jay sheepishly added, “I just- it’s kind of dumb but it’s been eating at me all day.”

“You can tell me… parts, if you’re more comfortable that way,” Zane offered, setting his hand on Jay’s shoulder. “Perhaps letting bits and pieces out will help take the… edge off.”

Jay smiled at Zane, in spite of everything. Man, this guy was always so well-tuned to everyone. This was not the first time Zane had reached out to one of the others when they seemed off. First it was Cole, and his frustration with dancing and with his dad. All it took was an evening with Zane helping him talk it out and Cole looked and felt like his old self again.

The next time it was about Kai and why he’d closed himself off for that spell of time while they were graduating from the dojo. He broke down crying to Zane about how worried he was that he’d lose all of them after graduation, that they’d be sick of him or something. A heartfelt night and lots of reassurance later, and Kai was back. Zane had a way with bringing the three of them back to their old selves.

So Jay trusted Zane when it came to this kind of thing. But how to tell him now?

“It’s… about Cole n’ Kai,” he began, walking in step with Zane. “I… think I might… be in love with them,” Jay said quickly.

Zane’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh!” Then they furrowed. “Both of them?” It’s a little louder than Jay wanted.

“Shh! Yes!” Jay gestured frustratedly, glancing at the other two boys ahead of them. Zane took the hint and lowered his voice.

“I see. That’s… quite the predicament.”

“No shit!”

Zane hummed. “Are you going to tell them?”

“NO!” Jay yelped. Zane shushed him, which Jay just reacted with a simmering embarrassment. “I-I can’t.”

Zane folded his arms and quirked a brow at Jay. “And why not?”

“Wh-WHY NOT?” Jay sputtered, and Zane shushed him again. “Because if I- if I mess something up, offend them, hurt them, whatever- then we’re not the same team anymore, Zane. I-“ Jay huffed and stared sadly at the concrete beneath them. “I don’t wanna lose them because of some- some dumbass crush I had when I was 15, and another one I only got yesterday.”

Zane frowned at him, in the way that meant pity, and Jay bit his lip quietly. Then he felt an arm around his shoulders.

“Jay,” Zane began in that inspirational voice of his, “We have been friends for six long years. At this point I do not think there is a single thing you can do that could make them want to stop being friends. That’s just not going to happen.”

Jay looked up from the pavement at Zane, and for the first time really took in his face. Or at least, his face from this angle. The striking blue eyes, the sort of angular eyebrows that had been bleached white along with his hair. The cheekbones. The soft smile. The… lips… 

Jay was definitely staring too long. Zane coughed, clearly he'd noticed. “Anyway,” he continued, “my point is that the worst thing that happens if you tell them is they reject you on a romantic level. But that’s it. We’re still going to be our little team, regardless of if you’re dating or not. I promise that.”

He gripped Jay’s shoulder in an act of reassurance, and Jay sighed a bit, but nodded. “Zane, how in the hell are you always so right all the time?”

His taller friend smiled and shrugged. “It’s an acquired talent.”

Jay laughed. “Of course it is.” He quickened his pace and flung his arm around Zane’s shoulder, as Zane did for him. They rejoined the other two as they walked up into the hotel lobby. They didn’t really do much the rest of the day, just ordered a pizza and hung out in the room.

9:57 PM. Sardine can time. Jay was on one end, Zane and Cole in the center, Kai on the other. Zane was already asleep. All was quiet, again.

Jay was thinking about what he was meant to say to them. He knows he’s never been great with expressing this kind of thing, if only because he loses the point halfway through and just starts rambling. It’s happened before.

Jay grumbles to himself and covers his face. Why’d he have to go and catch feelings? Especially for… all three of them. Some point that evening he was staring at Zane again and that clicked, so now he’s just here, suffering from too many crushes on his closest friends. This was a stupid plan.

_Y'know what? We’re just gonna have to sleep it off._

He folds his arms and lays on his back, hoping for sleep to show up soon.

2:27 AM.

Jay woke up with a start as something cold tightened around his waist. Zane was clinging to him, still somewhat asleep, and shivering madly.

Jay felt his stomach drop. _Shit shit shit is he okay?_ He slowly moved his arms up and put them on Zane’s shoulders. “Za-“

Zane shot up from sleeping and let out a terrified yell, which Jay met with an equally shocked “ZANE!”

Then it was silent, save for Zane’s shuddery breath. Jay stared at Zane worriedly. Still holding onto his shoulders while he held on to his waist.

“... m-my apologies,” Zane began, in a sort of choked-up voice. “I didn’t mean to-to scare you.” He pulls his arms back from Jay’s waist, and just grips the front of his white shirt, looking down.

Jay was quiet for a beat. “Well, you did anyway. Dude, what happened? Are… are you alright?” He kept his hands on Zane’s shoulders, trying to at least ground him.

“It’s fine,” Zane said quickly, clenching his jaw. Jay tilted his head and frowned.

“It sure as hell isn’t, buddy.” Jay moved so he had his arm around Zane, and looked him over. His shoulders were hunched and his legs looked close to curling up under his chin. He kept not making eye contact with Jay.

Jay gently reached out with his spare hand and cupped Zane’s cheek. It warmed up quick, and Jay gently moved Zane’s head so he was facing him. “Zane?”

Zane clenched his jaw, then blurted, “I’ve been having nightmares. Again, I mean.” He folded his arms and kept his eyes down. “From when I was a child. Or… I guess I actually never stopped having them?” Zane’s face flushed harshly.

Jay was taken aback a bit by this. “... I… I didn’t know.”

“That was the point,” Zane scoffed sadly. “I… was just always good at hiding them. I didn’t want you all to think I was… childish.”

Jay’s expression softened. _Zane…_ Without another word, he gripped both of Zane’s shoulders and looked him over again. He looked embarrassed, that was for sure, but he also looked guilty. Like keeping this fact from everyone was eating at him almost as much as having the nightmares in the first place.

“Zane… we’ve known each other for six long years," Jay began, quoting Zane from earlier. "I don’t think you’re childish if you have nightmares, dude. It’s not a… kiddie thing, it’s just a person thing.”

“Just a… person thing,” Zane echoed quietly, finally looking up to meet Jay’s gaze. “I… I just thought you’d think less of me.”

“Never, Zane. Never.”

There was a beat of silence, and then a sniffle, and Jay looked up with a sort of worried smile as Zane was crying. “Oh, buddy…” Jay murmured, pulling him into a hug. “It’s okay.”

There was a shifting sound, and then Cole’s arms flung around the both of them from behind. “What’s goin on…?” Cole asked blearily. “Zane? You okay?”

Zane sniffled again, and rubbed his eyes. “I… I am now.”

Jay tilted his head back and looked up at Cole, who was adamantly holding both of them. “Hey,” he said softly, a smile playing up his lips. 

Cole glanced down and returned the smile. “Hey yourself.”

Kai popped up from behind Cole’s shoulder with a concerned expression. Without saying anything, he reached out and grabbed onto Zane’s hand. Zane hummed softly, and they all kinda sat, being there for Zane. 

Cole piped up. “Okay, screw it. We’re sleeping like this.” Being The Strongest out of them, he leaned back and flopped onto the bed, carrying the rest of them with him. Jay squawked in protest but didn’t actively attempt an escape. This was _way_ too cozy.

Kai clambered up so he was half-hanging off of Cole’s shoulder, and used his other arm to yank the covers up across them all. Zane was still holding his hand, and had sort of tucked his head under Jay’s.

Jay never wanted to leave this spot. God, it felt so… safe. He sighed gently into Zane’s hair, and pretty much forgot about everything. He fell asleep, blissfully unaware that he still had to tell them… things, eventually.


	5. Insomniac Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jay thinks about Cole again, and makes a decision for a plan.

Breakfast - 8:03 AM - was its usual flavor of banter, all four of them crammed into a diner booth and jabbering about what syrup flavor was superior (it’s clearly apricot). Kai was leaning on his shoulder and swiping through his phone absentmindedly. Cole was across from them, laughing goofily at some bizarre accent Zane had adopted.

It was like a switch had flipped. Suddenly everyone was touchy-feely. 

It felt like home again.

In the time it took to eat breakfast, Jay had distinctly remembered that he had to tell these guys how he felt or else he was going to implode. And them sitting here together being cute wasn’t helping. Who gave them the right to be this wonderful? He’d be offended if he wasn’t so in love.

Jay found himself glancing back at Cole. His hair was its normal amount of disheveled. He had a milk mustache from part of breakfast. The way he looked when he laughed was just… something else.

Cole… even if it had been six or so years since he last had a crush on him, it really hadn’t worn off. He’d clicked with the guy long before Kai or Zane, it was some kinda connection they’d almost always had. It manifested in a lot of weird ways, like how Cole was usually awake at the same ungodly hours as Jay was, when they were living together. Kai had jokingly called those chance meetings their “insomniac dates”. Regardless of how Jay viewed them at the time, they were always… shockingly real. It gave them both a chance to talk about the day, about life, whatever that was ailing them, to someone who’d listen way better than anyone else.

The last one of these insomniac dates they’d had was the night before graduation. They just sorta… sat on the roof together and watched the stars. Talked about their plans after graduation was over. Cole had confessed that night that he was at least a little worried that the four of em would drift apart. Jay just laughed and told him, wholeheartedly, “you aren’t getting rid of me that easy”.

 _I still mean that,_ Jay thought as he reminisced. Cole’s voice broke through his little nostalgia curtain.

“Er… what’s up Jay? I got somethin in my teeth?”

Jay jolted and sat up straight suddenly, which booted Kai off his shoulder. _Shit wait was I staring? I was definitely staring SHIT_

“Uh- no. Nope, no you don’t,” Jay deflected, which just caused Cole to look at him funny. 

“Thennnn why’re you staring at me?” he asked, tilting his head at the other inquisitively.

“Oh, heh, just…” Jay began, cracking a nervous smile and rubbing the back of his neck. He could tell how flushed he was and he hated it but he kept talking anyway. “Just zoned out, that’s all.”

Cole squinted at him for a second, which just made Jay blush more. Then he shrugged, went “Ok” and went back to whatever he was reading on his phone. The moment passed.

Jay slumped into his seat and sighed inaudibly. He felt a hand on his shoulder and glanced up at Kai, who just sorta gave him a pitying _pat-pat_ there. Jay chuckled dryly at that, but it didn’t stop him from feeling so… dumb.

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful besides their second trip to the fair. They all crowded into one ferris wheel car together and that honestly felt like the highlight of the day, especially considering they could see the sunset from there. Again, it would have been the perfect scenario to tell them his feelings, just like their quiet moment in the diner, but… Jay couldn’t do it.

So they went back to the hotel and settled down for the night - their last night - and Jay went to bed feeling conflicted, so very conflicted. Because he still hadn’t told them anything. And he wanted to. _God_ he wanted to. But even with Zane’s reassurance and Kai’s acceptance of him, he was still so terrified he’d mess up their whole friendship if he said anything. So he tried to sleep it off for the very last time.

4:27 AM.

Jay woke up without Cole holding him or anything, which was disappointing. Why was it disappointing? You Know Why.

Jay slowly sat up in the bed, scanning the room for his friend. He spotted his head at the foot of the bed, like he was sitting on the floor. Jay slid gently off the bed and walked over to him. “Cole?”

Cole jolted and sucked in a breath like he wasn’t expecting him. “fUCK, you scared me. Don’t do that.”

Jay wrung his hands a bit. “S-sorry. What’re… what’re you doin up?” he asked, sitting down next to him. Shoulder to shoulder.

Cole looked away. “Couldn’t sleep.”

 _Ah._ “Just like old times, then?”

That got a little chuckle out of Cole, which made Jay smile in spite of himself. “Yeah… old times.”

There was a beat of silence, then Cole spoke up again. “I missed this.”

Jay tilted his head at him. “What?”

“Yknow… this! All of us, not even just monthly get-togethers for coffee, but… _living_ together. Again. We haven’t done this since-“

“Since graduation,” Jay finished for him. “Yeah…”

There was a beat where Cole stared at him. Jay wanted to return the gaze but knew if he did he wasn’t going to stop blushing.

Well, the blushing issue was solved when he felt Cole’s hand slip around his.

“I missed this. And…” Cole began quietly, rubbing his thumb over Jay’s knuckle. “I missed you. All of you. Part of me doesn’t want this trip to end… yknow?”

“I-I know,” Jay responded. _You have no fuckin idea how much I know_.

Cole laughed again, quietly. Jay finally stole a glance. Now he was blushing, just as much as Jay was. _Oh huh._

They stayed like that for what felt like an eternity, just kind of sharing these dumb loving glances and holding hands and _fuck I’m very in love with him! Fuck!_

“... we should get back in bed,” Cole spoke finally, breaking the silence. He went to stand up, and didn’t let go of Jay’s hand so he kinda went up with him. Jay turned his head and glanced at Kai and Zane, the former of whom was dutifully spooning the latter like it was his job. _Severely adorable, I’m offended,_ Jay thought jokingly to himself.

Cole led him onto the bed, quiet and just plain chill. Jay just kinda let himself be pulled along, and then he was being spooned too. This was perfectly fine with him. Cole’s words echoed in his head, which reminded Jay that this trip… it was going to end. That dampened his mood, even as he was right where he wanted to be for the rest of time.

_I gotta tell them tomorrow, on the way back, or else I’m never getting a chance._


	6. Home Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jay finally works up the courage to tell his friends how he feels.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is kinda short? I think so, anyway. it's the best way I could wrap up the story in its neat lil bow.

1:23 PM. Already on the road again.

Kai was singing along indistinctly to a pop song on the radio, sitting in shotgun, Zane was deftly doing a crossword puzzle next to Jay, and Cole was driving. It should feel really comfortable.

And yet Jay couldn’t feel comfortable. He knew he had to tell them, and he was trying very hard to figure out a way _how_ , but nothing seemed right.

They slowed to a stop and Jay realized they were at a rest stop. _Damn I’m letting this eat at me._

“Alright, anyone who needs to go, or get a snack, or what have you, this is our last stop,” Cole announced, turning off the engine and popping open the door. “Errybody out!”

Jay slid out and stood next to the van for a second. The boys were starting to move out. Jay swallowed, and then spoke up.

“Guys?”

All three of them, already heading up the sidewalk, stopped in their tracks and looked back. “Yeah Jay?” Kai responded. _Oh great now all the attention’s on me,_ Jay thought briefly.

“I, uh… We… we needa talk,” Jay finally spoke, leaning back against the van and wringing his hands again. The other three exchanged a glance, then Cole spoke up.

“Alright, ninja meeting. I call a ninja meeting!” he announced, grabbing the other two by the arms and leading them back to stand together next to the van. Jay felt his shoulders hunch but he laced his fingers together and kept his head up.

“What is it, Jay?” Zane asked gently. Jay sucked in a breath.

“I didn’t ask the concierge when you told me to. We probably could've gotten the room switched but I didn't ask,” Jay blurted.

Again, the others exchanged confused glances. Cole spoke again. “...well, okay, that’s a little strange but-”

Jay cut him off, starting to ramble. “I kind of panicked? And made up a really dumb plan on the spot to get over some, uh, _feelings_ I had because well I guess maybe the exposure would’ve made them go away but nope!”

“Jay-” Cole cut in, but didn't get through it.

Jay was kind of hopping from foot to foot as he sputtered and rambled. “Because now! Instead of being in love with just Cole, who I’d kind of had a crush on since the start, now I have a crush on all three of you! Which is just kind of insane? I mean it makes sense but I’m kind of imploding right now so it also doesn’t help matters much.”

“Jay.”

“AND THEN! And then I just kept waiting and waiting and waiting to say anything because I didn’t wanna jeopardize our friendship over this but _god_ I can’t keep it in! And I’m definitely talking too much right now but I guess I’ve always been the rambly one and-”

“Jay!” Cole grabbed Jay under the arms and lifted him up off the ground so he’d stop hopping. This also promptly threw off Jay’s train of thought, and he shut up and looked up from his wringing hands to look at Cole. He looked a little stricken, a little confused, a little flustered, but a lot concerned. “Take a breather, man, holy shit.” Zane and Kai were wearing similar expressions.

Jay stuttered a bit. “I’m… sorry, I’m sorry I lied, and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, and I’m sorry I’m such a dumbass that I couldn’t tell you guys how I felt until right now. It was a dumb idea.” Jay looked at the ground in… shame.

“Jay…” Cole spoke up quietly, setting Jay back down. “That’s an… awful long way to go just to say you love us back, man.” He cracked a smile at him.

“I know, it was kind of dumb and-“ Jay began his train of slight self-deprecation again, but stopped short once he processed what Cole had said. “Wait… love you _back?_ ” He looked up.

Cole was smiling softly at him, Kai was almost snickering until Zane grabbed his hand and held it in what must have been an unspoken message to quit laughing at him. All of them were smiling at him and that sorta made Jay stop hunching his shoulders and look between them all, kind of dumbfounded.

“I… then you… we’re still…” Jay started to process it a bit more. “... still friends.”

“Oh of course, but I have a feeling that we’re more than that now, zaptrap,” Cole remarked with a light chuckle. It was at this time that Jay noticed how close he was.

Jay just kind of grinned nervously, feeling his face grow hot but smiling through it. “I mean… I hope I wasn’t that obvious.”  
  
“You are the most obvious dork in the world, oh my god, get over here,” Cole said lovingly with a tinge of exasperation, rolling his eyes and taking Jay by the collar of his shirt.

And then he kissed him.

God, it felt like everything lined up for this. Like the world lined up for this. It felt so strangely perfect. They fit together, maybe they always had? Jay didn’t know, and he honestly didn’t care. He rested his hands on Cole’s chest, not quite knowing where else to put them.

Felt like an eternity, but was probably only ten-ish seconds. Cole pulled back, already smiling at Jay again. Apparently (and Jay was only told this later) Jay had an expression on his face like he had seen the stars for the first time. Just… in awe.

Cole giggled at him. “C’mere, you.” He pulled Jay into a hug, and Jay blinked out of his stupor long enough to look over at Kai, who looked very near jealous.

“I was gonna do that!” He grumbled, which just caused Zane to chuckle lightly and squeeze Kai’s hand. Kai jolted for a second, but smiled sort of sheepishly. “Well, I mean… I guess we’ll all get a chance eventually.” He smiled at Jay now, and Zane did the same, and then they came on over to join the hug.

Zane reached out and touched Jay's hair, remarking lightly under his breath "you were right, it is soft!"

"You're soft," Kai retorted affectionately, pecking Zane on the cheek. Jay smiled at them from Cole's shoulder, wrapping his arms around Cole and leaning into the hug.

Jay… felt like he was right where he needed to be. This was it. Everything felt… alright.

These guys were his home again.


End file.
